


The Lion-girl Ambassador

by Dragonsigma



Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 08:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6321454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonsigma/pseuds/Dragonsigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ngih arrived in Cetho on a warm spring day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lion-girl Ambassador

**Author's Note:**

> This was conceived on the IRC as a live "Storytime." I had always assumed lion-girls were some sort of exotic dancers, but then someone suggested they were another species, and the idea grew from there.

They said he was mad, to welcome a lion-girl to court like a foreign ambassador, but they said that about a lot of things. Let the comic papers have their day, Csevet advised him, and handle the real issues as they arose.

Ngih arrived in Cetho on a warm spring day, dressed in clothes most would consider too heavy for the weather. But then her country was a hot one, so Maia considered that the season might feel to her like winter.

Some of the courtiers were well-mannered enough not to stare. Many were not, and there was little he could do about that. But he made sure the guest chamber she was offered was well-heated and away from curious eyes.

Csevet informed Maia that Ngih spoke Ethuverazhin quite well. On the other hand, her language was not one suitable to elf tongues, and compromises had had to be made. She was gracious in these, though her chosen name of Negeh confused many.

Another thing for the papers to scribble about, for they mocked foreign dignitaries with as much enthusiasm as they did their own Emperor.

Her appearance was something of a surprise. Maia had seen an engraving of a lion-girl once before, in a book of Setheris's. The book had been hastily snatched out of his hand, but he had caught a glimpse of a voluptuous figure with furred ears, mane braided and beaded, breasts bared, wearing only light scarves. In contrast, Ngih wore a long embroidered robe, and though she did wear jewelry, it was nowhere near as extravagant as the engraving had suggested.

She offered a trade deal, managing the complicated merchants' terms with an ease few expected from a newcomer to the language. Valued jewels, spices, plants, in exchange for Ethuvereise goods. But it was her other demand that shocked the court.

Her people, she said, casting accusing eyes on the nobles surrounding her, were too often made to dance for the pleasure of others, made objects and images of entertainment. If this practice did not end, she would make no deal.

There were whispers around the room, silenced by a glare from the Emperor. When there was silence again, he spoke. Her terms were very fair, and more discussion would be needed to put them into effect. A few changes, perhaps, the typical stuff of ambassadors' bargains, but he did not contest her central point.

The discussions lasted three days, drawn out by several representatives' refusal to work with a woman, and a foreigner at that. Ngih did not waste the opportunity to comment later on how they did not like to be outsmarted by those they considered mere entertainment.

When agreements were finally reached, the papers protested the shuttered bawdy shows, but their customers soon found comfort in the strange new drinks that reached the markets, come from distant lands. They needn't be grieved; dancers were still to be found, for those with money and the sense to keep their hands to themselves.

And in time, the papers found something new to satirize, and life moved on. 

**Author's Note:**

> Join the tiny fandom discussion and RP at http://www.slashnet.org/webclient/thegoblinemperor


End file.
